Safety-plate for railroads



(No Model.)

T. B. SMITH.

SAFETY PLATE PDOR'RAILROADS. I No. 486,741. Patented Nov. 22, 1892.

ST TE PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS B. SMITH, OF BRIDGEPORT, OHIO.

SAFETY-PLATE FOR RAILROADS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 486,741, dated November22, 1892.

Application filed March 9, 1892.

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, THOMAS B. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Belmont and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Plates forRailroads, of which the following is aspecification, reference being hadtherein to the accompanying drawings.

This improvement is designed to prevent railway-rails from spreadingaway from each other; and the invention consists in the peculiarconstruction, arrangement, and combinations of parts hereinafter moreparticularly described, and then definitely pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, which represent the preferable way ofcarrying out my ideas, Figure 1 represents a perspective view of myimprovement. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same with the rails inposition.

Referring now to the details of the drawings, A represents a bar of ironor soft steel, on each end of which is formed a portion of considerablygreater width to form a broad base for the rail. Each of these ends isprovided with lugs D D, the former having its inner edges d inclinedoutwardly, or away from the rail, while the latter has its inner edges dinclined inwardly, or toward the rail, so as to fit over the foot, asshown by Fig. 2.

In operation I secure my improved device by any suitable meanslengthwise of the tie and lay the rails on the bases 0 O, with one sideof the foot fitting under the projection d of the lugs D D, as shown indotted lines in Fig. 2, and then lower the rail until the other side ofthe foot bears against the lugs D D, and then secure the rail to thebase 0, as shown in Fig. 2, by a spike E, which passes through a hole inthe outside of the plate and serves the double purpose of securing therail to the plate and securing the plate to the tie. As the edge d isinclined, the foot of the rail may be made to fit tightly in the recessformed between the edges d and d, and yet be readily set in sidewise, asshown in Fig. 2, whereas if the edge 61 were made perpendicular the railcould not be set in sidewise if the foot were broad enough to makeatight fit when Serial No. $24,312. (No model.)

as well as the facility of placing and removal of rails is obvious.

It will be evident that the ordinary soft cedar ties can with thisdevice be used on curves in place of the more expensive oak ones, as thegreat trouble with the cedar ties- 2'. e., the allowing of the rails tospread by reason of the spikes not holding-is overcome when myimprovement is used, because there is no strain on the spikes, and ifeither of the rails move the other is certain to move a correspondingamount, and thus no spread ing occurs. 7

I am aware that it has been proposed t make plates extending from railto rail and to provide the same with tongues or fingers that are bentdown over the foot of the rail after the rail has been set in place, andthat it has also been proposed to provide similar plates with fingers orlugs projecting over the outside of the foot of the rail; but I regardmy device as vastly superior to either of these, for in thefirst-mentioned plan the metal has to be bent cold, and hence must becomparatively thin, and is, moreover, liable to break on account ofbeing bent cold, while my plates may be made of any desired thickness,and can be bent at the time of manufacture when heated, so as to readilybend without injury to their texture. In the other form referred to,where the lug fits over the outside of the foot of the rail, the lugwill not prevent the rail tipping outward, which is the especial objectof my invention.

What I claim as new is A safety-plate for preventing rails fromspreading and tipping, consisting of a plate A, having broad end pieces13 13, each having In testimony WhQIGOfIEtffiX mysignature, in

lugs D, pressing on the top of the inside of presence of two witnesses,this 5th day of the foot of the rail, and. other lugs D, having March,1892.

their inside edges inclined away from the THOMAS E. SMITH. 5 rail,whereby the rail may be readily inserted Witnesses:

endwise and yet fit tightly between the lugs G. W. HOLLISTER,

when seated, substantially as described. GEO. O. GIFFIN.

